My biggest dilemma is that I have to take medicine in the morning. I don't want to eat until around 11 am because I like to have a late night snack of 100 calorie pack of cocoa dusted almonds. I've been putting off taking my medicine but the one I can't put off is an anti biotic.

I guess I can share this ,lol. I have to take an antibiotic before have sex or I will get a UTI.I have to take it with food.

I guess half of a Greek Yogurt would be 50 calories. I need to look up string cheese and baby bell light.

How about you? Is the 5:2 plan working with your life? I also don't like working out with my trainer on an empty stomach.

Will this not work if you have 11 hours in between instead of 12? There must be some reason you have to have 12 hours off.

We can do it, Laura! I'm detoxing. Turns out that I'm mid-cycle now and the weight jump isn't too surprising, nor is the desire to snack. Was back to my same 'ole number this morning. The very day after I reported my loss here I bounced back to the number I've been pretty constantly seeing (142.4) for several weeks now. I got a little up, go a little down, but I always settle right back here. Dang it. At least I'm not up like yesterday.

So, confession: I've been logging my food at the end of the day instead of at the start of the day. This is not working for me! So today, I already have my food planned out. I am drinking two Protein Shakes today and eating Protein heavy meals all day. I'm hoping to kick the carb cravings - I got some bad habits while the kids were here because they eat a lot of snack foods we normally don't have in the house. Why can I walk past an entire container of homemade Cookies or danishes but not a bag of salt and vinegar chips? All that stuff is leaving the house - usually it's not here, if we want chips, I make them. So the processed stuff needs to leave because right now I'm having a hard time staying away from it all. Introduce any stress and it gets much harder for me to abstain. Sure, I only eat a handful of chips. But I do it EVERY day. That can't be good. Secretly, I'm scared that one day I'll just lose my mind and hide in a closet and eat them all. The fact that it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it can't happen. There is no longer a skinny woman inside me screaming to get out. There's a fat woman inside me and she wants the food. ALL OF IT. So I have to shut her up with protein shakes.

chocolate ones.

I've got my limits.

Anyway, I'm also curbing my coffee intake. I've been drinking quite a bit of it and want to see how I feel without it. You know, besides tired. And I'm proud to say that once I decided a few weeks ago to stop using alcohol daily I have only had a drink here or there. Nothing regular and there's no time of the day where I just feel like it's beer or wine time and I need a drink. This is a good thing.

Hope everyone is well. Happy Weekend! We're dragging the kids off to tot Shabbat (ugh...as if spending an hour with thirty other kids six and under wasn't bad enough we're doing it outside in the muggy buggy woods) because hubs insists and I've been finding excuses not to go for the last two months. Ah well, I knew it couldn't last.

~Cheri

Secretly' date=' I'm scared that one day I'll just lose my mind and hide in a closet and eat them all.

There is no longer a skinny woman inside me screaming to get out. There's a fat woman inside me and she wants the food. ALL OF IT.

~Cheri[/quote']

This ^ OMG yes my fear and my inner voice sometimes! Ok we must hold it together today.

Oh edit! coffee? I will give up the world, hell take my kids! but I NEED my coffee! Can't go there with you Cheri

Just read this' date=' pretty cute account of a British comedian that tried 5:2.

http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/kate-langbroek-20130702-2p9pv.html[/quote']

Love it!

Wow that sounds good! I wished I lived closer to you I'd be stopping by on a regular basis

My day at the beach included some bites of fresh baked' date=' hot, garlic artichoke bread from Pescadero some wine and two cookies...

Oh and some potato chips!

Wow now that I'm writing it all out?

It sounds even worse! I might need to wire my jaw shut to tame the carb monster tomorrow.[/quote']

Everybody knows that the beach/water makes one want to eat copious amounts of junk food and chips as fast as you can! . Something about that calm cool breeze. Bahahaha.

Today is going to be a hard day. A cousin of mine died and I am going to her celebration of life potluck. It will be all bad food, no doubt. I am asked to bring a variety of chips and dips.

I plan to stay away from the food table. My daughter usually brings a shrimp ring to things like that. I can have that at least.

Having a few days away with hubbie and fitting in attendance at family celebration (christening) today. Family don't know about op so I just took small amount at the pig roast and filled plate up with salad, then ate the pork and left rest as no room in tum. I got rid of my plate quickly and I think I got away with it. The rest of the weekend may be harder though but life is for living and 5:2 will still be there Tuesday.

It was my birthday on Friday (16th) I had roasted lamb and Afghan pilau and naan and we danced and drank tea, it was nice. Today is a fast day and I started off my first work day after my birthday by going to the gym, yay! I'm aiming for 600 cals today, it is 11am and so far I have had only hot tea with a splash of milk but when I do finally feel "hungry", I will have a Protein Shake - espresso chocolate (Click espresso protein/Syntrax chocolate) with some SF chai syrup made with Water and a half cup of milk.

FYE - my father was an artist and he took classes there and then taught classes. He also showed his work there and at Zimmerman Gallery in the village, as well as shows in Napa, Ukiah, etc.

It was my birthday on Friday (16th) I had roasted lamb and Afghan pilau and naan and we danced and drank tea, it was nice. Today is a fast day and I started off my first work day after my birthday by going to the gym, yay! I'm aiming for 600 cals today, it is 11am and so far I have had only hot tea with a splash of milk but when I do finally feel "hungry", I will have a Protein Shake - espresso chocolate (Click espresso protein/Syntrax chocolate) with some SF chai syrup made with Water and a half cup of milk.

FYE - my father was an artist and he took classes there and then taught classes. He also showed his work there and at Zimmerman Gallery in the village, as well as shows in Napa, Ukiah, etc.

Happy Birthday!! I am glad that you are feeling better and could enjoy your birthday!

So glad you are feeling better, Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Globe!

Well, I did not have a great day calorie wise today.went over my 1200 goal by about 270 calories and was HUNGRY all day long! (Snacky!!!!). . Oh well, tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow. You're only a day away!

Will be curbing this new snack hunger tomorrow! Yikes!

Happy Birthday Globe! I'm so glad you got rid of what you had and can enjoy things again.

I had a pretty good day. I didn't eat much even though it wasn't a fast day. I picked blackberries and did eat quite a few of those though.

It's a feed day and so far I've had a protein-heavy breakfast, somewhat carby lunch, and am about to have a protein shake snack and that brings me to about 1100, leaving me about 550 to play with for dinner. I already know dessert will be fresh watermelon and a homemade fig newton, yum!

Happy Birthday! Watermelon sounds delightful...and something I've never made are fig newtons...might need to check that out! I make a yummy breakfast cookie that has dried figs, nuts, granola, etc. but my kids LOVE those "Fig Newmans" and would eat them every day if I let them. Maybe a homemade version would go over well.

My update: still battling that same up a pound, down a pound on the scale but I might be doing it for a while yet!

Fasting today. Trying to put off my morning shake until ten but having a little trouble getting there. I'm slowly trying to get used to eating closer to that 16/8 but it's a challenge for me. I feel completely out of sorts, shaky and foggy if I go too long without eating. It makes it even more clear to me that my diabetes is simply "in remission" and is highly likely to return with age. Insulin resistance doesn't go away. I can "reverse it" (sounds like a cure but it's really remission like the diabetes) but some of the symptoms have never gone away for me.

Anyone one else previously diabetic with similar issues? Tracking my blood sugars shows almost no spike and fall pattern, so I'm wondering if I'm attributing the way I feel when I don't eat to my blood sugars but they aren't responsible. I'd go see my doctor, but, well, I have Tricare and receive care at a local military hospital, so I'm actually better off figuring out a solution myself and treating it myself, too. It's a waste of time and energy to even see the doctor!

Still waiting on my labs - they should be back next week. As a few of you suggested the doc was thinking that a thyroid issue could be to blame for the hair loss. Maybe it's wholly hormonal? Normal post pregnancy hair loss exacerbated by my already screwed up hormones?

In any case, I suppose I actually need to start lifting weights and getting into shape. I was asked to be in a wedding next summer and would hate to be thin but saggy, you know? It's my arms, mostly. They got much bigger with the pregnancy and are a bit batwingy at the moment.

Maybe it'll be like the first year post VSG, though. Maybe when Shevi is a year old I'll find my body back where it was (mostly) prior to pregnancy. Oh, that would be a delight! I am not fat by a long shot, but some days I FEEL fat, mostly because of how my body weight is distributed now! I swear, the entire eight pounds I can't lose is planted on my thighs and butt! Hubs is delighted, of course, but I'm not so keen on rocking the saddlebag look when I wear anything but jeans, know what I mean?

Hope all you ladies have a fab Monday. I know most people hate Mondays. To me, they're my "back to normal" day. Remember, I'm a SAHM and every day is like Groundhog Day around here if I'm not careful!

Oh, and on another note, I managed to cobble together (with the help of another sleever here) a local group. We're doing our first meeting in an area restaurant but I'm hosting September at my place. I'm gonna talk about navigating food functions and the holidays with a sleeve, I think, and put out a nice brunch spread of sleeve friendly treats! Exciting. If any of you are in the D.C. area PM me and please come!

~Cheri

Fast day today! I find some comfort there for sure. My "I want to do everything I want" voice is complaining, but thats the voice that got me into trouble in the first place! This morning I got back to my lowest 5:2 weight, after 11 days of vacation, fancy dinners, a birthday party and house guests. Not bad! I threw in a couple of fast days where I could, and never gained more than 3+ pounds... and now its off. I hope I can break this low this week a little more. Onward to goal! And I have a hope in hell that I can maintain as well! Have a nice day everyone.

Fast day today! I find some comfort there for sure. My "I want to do everything I want" voice is complaining' date=' but thats the voice that got me into trouble in the first place! This morning I got back to my lowest 5:2 weight, after 11 days of vacation, fancy dinners, a birthday party and house guests. Not bad! I threw in a couple of fast days where I could, and never gained more than 3+ pounds... and now its off. I hope I can break this low this week a little more. Onward to goal! And I have a hope in hell that I can maintain as well! Have a nice day everyone.[/quote']

I so agree with you, FYE! Fast day pulls me "into line", so to speak, mentally. And the weird thing is to me is that I feel extremely anxious or "fat" if I eat all the way to my full calorie margin on feast days! I am finding the " do my own thing" snack wise creeping up so today working on back to 3 meals, 2 Snacks and not mindlessly eating a little here or there even if within my goal calorie expenditure.

But, hey, at 154 and four pounds from my lowest/goal is so totally mind blowing to me. After struggling to figure it all out, I'm very pleased.

Good luck, all fasters today. And all feasters, clean eating to you!!!